Infectus Sanguis
by R.S. Xavior
Summary: SephirothTifa She is his only hope of ever having a normal life. But can she help him before the darkness engulfs him once more? DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue: All That the Past Binds Us

**Infectus Sanguis**   
  
**Note from Your Author:** Sorry I have been out for so long, but the patient shall be rewarded. Since I made all of you wait so long, I have decided to go over previous chapters and revamp and tweek the story slightly. The main plot line will not be changed, but there are a few changes that I made. So read them to find out especially if have been reading this. The story shall still remain with the same couples, but relationships between Sephiroth and Tifa will progress slower than what most readers like. I took down most of the chapters for now until they are revamped but they will be reposted sometime in the next 4 days. Thank you. As always I would love feedback on the new revamped chapters. Thank you.   


**Disclaimer**: Unfortunately I do not own Final Fantasy VII. That is owned by Squaresoft, not me. This disclaimer applies for the whole story.   
A/N: Please keep in mind this takes place sometime after the end of the game   
----- means a change of scene or time   
  
  
  


Prologue:   
All That The Past Binds Us 

_All of time affects us all. Bound by the past mistakes of our lives and never forgetting them for a moment's notice. Another string added to Fate's controlling. Somewhere... someway we have been tainted, be it by choice or forced decision. The past alone binds all of this into all of us. So that one never forgets the mistakes of the past._   


Shinra.... the word alone had stricken fear into the hearts of the people. The terror of their reign will be something not forgotten. This grew the same for all, even the members of AVALANCHE. Ever since saving the Planet from Jenova, the members have kept in touch, but some ties between some of them have become loose. The string that binds them all will bring them together once more. Only time shall tell what will come.   
  
  


Tifa looked over at the barren chair at her table. Her eyes, downcast, tainted with sorrow. She, slowly, ate her food that she had prepared. Time had passed, but she only wished that it could turn back. She sighed and looked away from the barren chair. The house had grown so quiet since then. Only a few weeks ago Cloud was sitting across from her at the same table in that now barren chair. She felt water wielding up inside her eyes. She stiffened; she had promised herself not to cry over the incident anymore. Although, that day was still embedded into her mind, permanently. 

_Three weeks ago....._

The night was perfect; the stars were shining brightly and mood was just right. Cloud had invited Tifa to watch the stars with him. They had been living together since they retired from the Jenova incident. Cloud had nowhere to go after that and Tifa had invited him to live with her. She still had a lingering in her heart for his crystal blue eyes. Each day she spent making him feel special and trying to help him forget the woes he had suffered not long ago. 

Though, Cloud was happy on the outside, inside he was in a turmoil with himself. He tended to ignore her bouts of kindness, but accepted them none the less. Somehow he had a pit of guilt growing in his heart every time she performed a kind act for him.. Each day with her seemed only to deepen the pit. That is when he had decided.....   
  
  


Tifa looked at Cloud and smiled sweetly. He knew she had grown quite fond of him. Both were already dating each other. He smiled back and looked back to his feet again, thinking. The crickets' choir did not seem to be helping his uneasiness as he quickly tapped his foot in mid-air. 

Tifa looked at him, puzzled. He had been sitting there the entire time staring at his feet. She knew he was thinking, but it worried her. He was usually happy in these kinds of situations. She sighed to herself and decided it would be best to try to comfort him. She smiled and shifted closer to Cloud until she laid her head upon his shoulder. She outwardly sighed. His head turned to look at her. Something was different about him. His eyes no longer glistened for her as they usually did. She mentally frowned. She lightly kissed his cheek. 

"What is on your mind?" Tifa asked. 

"Nothing...." Cloud replied. 

"Cloud, tell me the truth... please..." she said, looking to him. 

Cloud sighed and turned towards her, causing her to lift her head from his shoulder. He looked to her then to the ground trying to collect his thoughts to speak. Tifa looked at him curiously. She was getting her hopes up. She was getting ready for him to confess how much he loved being around her. Her eyes, unconsciously, lighted up somewhat. She looked directly at him, happy in thought. 

"Tifa.. I have been thinking for the past few weeks on our relationship. At first I was enjoying it without any hesitation. But now I am starting to have my doubts. Somehow I feel this was not meant to be..." Cloud said, looking at her eyes. 

"Cloud, what are you talking about? We are both as happy. What is it that you doubt so much about it?" Tifa asked, her head tilted slightly. 

Cloud stood up. His eyes gleamed with some sort of fire. The blaze ignited and soon engulfed his pupils. Tifa could not place where she had seen it before, but the look was all too familiar. 

"You do not understand. I love you, Tifa, but... I have some things to think about. My mind is jumble of thoughts right now," Cloud stated, "I am just not in the mood to be with you." 

She heard the emphasis on the word, 'you.' She loved him, yes, but what he said made her heart start hurting and her head ached. She just could not think of losing him again. It was too much for her at the time. 

She turned her head away from him. Her eyes were watering up. She had to let it out. Right as she felt the first tear fall, Cloud gently touched her cheek. He turned her head so she would face him once more. He smiled slightly. 

"Please do not cry. You must understand....," Cloud said. 

"No, you do not understand! I do not know what has gone wrong with you in the past few weeks... What have I done?" Tifa said, turning her back to him and walking off. 

------ 

Cloud had, eventually, broke off the relationship and moved into his mother's old home. The event had left Tifa depressed and less livelier than normal. She had no time to prepare for it. She was deeply in love with the man at the time. Little did Cloud know how much of a scar he left in her heart. It was one that ran deeper than the scar lain upon her chest. Lately, she found herself sitting at her kitchen table trying to get over him. Every morning she sat down for her coffee and thought of ways to forget him. 

Tifa sipped on her coffee and put the thoughts aside for now. She had to go to work. She was the owner of the local bar. Tifa swallowed the thickness inside her throat, sighed, and stood up. She gathered her keys for the house and left for the bar. She could only hope that somehow, someway today would help her forget the pain. 

------ 

Cloud sat his table eating his 'breakfast.' He had to admit his cooking skills were not good. Sometimes, the food seemed to move by itself. He sighed. 

"_Tifa could do a lot better...._"he said, picking at the eggs. 

He felt horrible for telling her so abruptly. He knew he could not continue without sorting out with memories. He could never forget his love for Aeris. He also knew he would have to get over her. He did care for Tifa, but whether he was caring for her out of youthful love or deeper emotions was a mystery to him. His head hurt whenever he tried to sort all the issues at once. He had not really saw the effects of what he had done on Tifa, but was hearing constantly of it from Vincent. In his heart he wanted to make it up to her. If only he knew how... 

He glanced at the clock. Tifa would be at work soon. During the after hours would be the perfect time to tell her. He finished breakfast and walked to his bathroom. He would surprise her. Hopefully, it would help her become herself once more. He just had to wait. Tonight would something she could enjoy. His mind was set and nothing would stop him. 

------ 

The endless sea of green.... All around it was the only thing that could be seen. The darkness was no longer there, but the memory of it remained. It was forever embedded into his spirit. The screams were the only sounds filling the air. All belonging to the innocent victims Jenova... no he had slain. All the spirits of the others passed him by while he remained in the same area ever since he was there. He was isolated as he had always been. It was something he had grown accustomed to... the loneliness and the darkness. He was forvever trapped within his crystallized mako prison. 

He was floating as he thought it seemed. He could no longer feel all of the pain that he once held upon his chest. Most of it was gone, but still a portion remained as it always would. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to open them and find his fear come true. He wanted it this way, never be able to see the temporary haven. He would only wait until his spirit energy would be used for creating something more. Then, he would forget all of this. Only then would he have no memory. He would just drift until that moment came. 

He, suddenly, felt a shift in the sea around him.. The pressence was comforting and loving, he opened his eyes for the first time since he had been there. A female figure smiled back at him as she floated in the sea around him. She did not seem to have any features. She was a blurred image of a spirit that was with him. All he knew was that her hair was a deep brown color. Even if she was just a blurred image he felt a sense of comfort and security from her. Even if he had never met her, he felt at ease. She pressed her hand against the crystal that imprisoned him, which was slowly dissolving into liquid. 

"_Sephiroth.... you must go... you do not need to be here..._" the figure said. 

He looked at her, his eyes full of confusion. Then, he noticed the change in the materia around him, changing from solid form to a liquid state. Slowly it was joining the sea around him. Unable to move he just stared at the woman as he could feel the lower half of his body being exposed to the burning magma of green. 

"_You do not belong in this place..._" the woman continued. 

"_What...?_" Sephiroth asked, still puzzled. 

"_The Planet has not preordained it your time to leave the world... you have to go back.... The Planet needs you..._" thelady explained, "_I know you do not wish to return, but please... trust me... needs you... not much time..._" 

Her image was starting to fade. She smiled and she pointed to a lighter area of green above him.. He coughed as his lungs inhaled the liquid life. He quickly followed her hand as if possessed by some force greater than him. He struggled to keep swimming upwards as the large unhealed stab wound in his side burned like the fires of hell. Finally, the woman faded into nothing. Sephiroth's head broke through the surface of the Lifestream and coughed the green life water up as his lungs got the air they desparately needed. Seeing the shore he quickly swam for it. He collapsed on the ground once his body was clear from the Lifestream. He stared up at his night surroundings, gasping for breath. The area looked so familiar when he finally realized that he popped up on the ruins of the Nibelheim reactor. He laughed slightly at the irony. A cold draft hit him and he forced himself to stand. He quickly made an exit of the place. 

All of the thoughts of the woman already lead him to what to do. He glanced over the large expansion of mountain to spot the sleepy town of Nibelheim. He quickly turned and started the trek down the path, knowing that if he did not he would shortly perish in the mountain winds and the lose of blood. He did not quite understand his purpose for existing at the moment, but knew the Planet had already determined that. All he could do for now is follow the voice that he trusted the most, that of the brown-haired angel that visited him in childhood dreams.   



	2. Chapter I: Meeting Familiar Faces

Disclaimer: I still do not own Final Fantasy VII. Michelle and Ryu are all I own. Not to mention if you sued me all I own is a cat, my computer, and some old video games. I am an artist as my job, come on people.   
  
  
  


Chapter One:   
Meeting Familiar Faces 

_Friendships can last for lifetimes_   
_or maybe for a moment._   
_It all depends on how we feel_   
_for them and how impressions are made._   
  


The bar was very busy that day. Tifa and the two other bartenders, Ryu and Michelle, were having trouble with getting the orders done quickly. They did not anticipate a group of mercenaries and ex-members of SOLDIER to come into town. It was true that Nibelheim had grew in population, but this was ridiculous as they thought. No one would have thought since the reconstruction of Midgar began that so many urban dwellers would flock to the smaller towns to eek out an existence. 

"Next time we have to start a policy on calling before bringing in a group over ten people...." Ryu said, trying to mix drinks as fast as he could. 

"No, that would be too much like fast food restaurants," Michelle said. 

"You have a point there," he replied. 

Tifa just shook her head at the two. Both of them would argue with one another for days on end. Of course she let them know when things got to out of hand. Otherwise, they were the best employees she had for the moment. 

She came back from her thoughts when she caught a glimpse of Cloud from the window. He was walking from his house in a better looking mood than he had been in recent days. She questioned it, but decided not to linger on it for too long. Still, curiosity got the best of her when he entered a nearby shop. Cloud usually did not go shopping unless he had to restock on food and that was definitely not a food store he just entered. 

Michelle poked Tifa's shoulder. "Is something up? Your mind is not with us any more," she said. 

"Sorry. It is nothing. Just noticed something out of the ordinary, that's all," Tifa replied. 

"Oh I see. Well, we need your help. Apparently, these people can not get enough to drink," Michelle said, a little annoyed. 

"I have feeling that I am going to be dragging out some drunks...." Ryu stated, getting ready to hand out drinks. 

Tifa quickly started helping with mixing the drinks. Today was a good business day, but the night would bring the weariness. Once done with mixing the batch of drinks, she started working at the cash register. Yes, today would be very stressful and tiring. 

------- 

Cloud walked into the store. He hoped it was still there. Then, he spotted what he came for. It was the dress she had her eyes on for a while. It was the color of her hair and would compliment her. At least he knew could make her feel better with a decent present. He bought it and had it wrapped in a box. Careful not to be in view of the bar as he left, he went back into his house with the present in hand. He set it upon the table. 

Cloud slowly eased himself into a chair. Once again trapped within his own thoughts. He knew it would be hard to heal what damaged he had caused in the past, but he would have to try. After all he was not the kind of man to back down once he got determined to do something. 

He stared across the room. His eyes were set on a photograph of himself and Tifa. Both of them were smiling and seemed happy as can be. It was the day they all went to the Gold Saucer for some fun and vacation time. He smiled at the memory. Hopefully, he could mend things. Then, something came back his memory. He walked over to a note he posted on his refrigerator. 

"Seems I almost forgot Barret, Marlene, and Cid are coming into town for the week," Cloud thought. 

He would have to get his guest bedroom ready. It was going to be a good week. He had not seen the three of them for a month now. They all kept in touch. It was welcome thing to see old friends, though. 

------- 

Crimson eyes looked around in the dark depths of the room. He sat upon a chair enjoying the moment of peace. The air held a certain stand still to it that allowed him to calm the beast inside. His eyes glanced down at the dusty floors that he had never bothered to clean. He thought it best to leave the house as it stood, a relic of the past. It brought back many memories; most were horrible and best to be forgotten. At least it allowed him to have some connection to Lucrecia. 

Vincent stood up from his chair. His nightmares had been becoming worse in the past nights. He knew something was amiss. He would just have to be prepared for what the Planet and time had in store. As long as it was not another sin to place on his back. That was something he did not need. The nightmares puzzled him, but he knew slightly of what was to happen. 

His thought process stopped when he picked up the sound of footsteps on the stairwell. He glanced at his door. He saw nothing. he concluded that he must be growing old and senile. He closed his eyes and sat back into his chair again. Counting the ceiling tiles seemed to have been a better past time these days. His eyes glanced out the window. Clouds were moving in and it would rain. Then, he knew tonight was the night.   
  


------- 

The cold winds howled across the path and lashed out at Sephiroth. He had finally finished the long trek down the mountain side. The rain was pouring, drenching his form and chilling his bones to the core. His left hand held in wound closed so that he lost as little blood as possible. It had begun to clot slightly during the noon hours. He slowly started walking into town in a forced walk as he could not see from his blurred vision of pain and the dizziness that accompanied it. Still he kept his head down and continued to walk.   


------- 

Ryu walked outside for a moment. He had to get a breath of fresh air before cleaning up after the mercenaries. All of them had started up the mountain path not too long ago. He sighed as he looked at mud puddles. He never did like the rain. He stared oddly at the man coming from Mt. Nibel staggering as he walked towards the bar, most likely drunk already. 

"Great... It is raining," Michelle said, a little pissed off. 

"A little water never hurt anyone," Ryu replied as he walked in, "We may have another visitor soon. Someone is heading this way from Mt. Nibel, already drunk though." 

"I guess our job it is not done yet," Tifa said with a sigh. 

She had sat down in a chair. She slowly sipped on a cup of coffee. She needed a break after the flood of men left. Most were staring at her like she was an entree for dinner. Luckily, none of them had tried anything. She really did not feel like putting up with them. 

"Both of you can go home early tonight. I will clean up around here," Tifa said, smiling slightly. 

"Thanks greatly appreciated," Ryu said, bowing slightly. 

"No problem. Besides, it is my turn anyway," Tifa replied. 

------- 

Night had fallen on Nibelheim by the time Barret, Marlene, and Cid arrived in town. The rain was pouring long and hard. It seemed there would be no end to it anytime soon. 

Vincent closed the door of the large mansion behind himself. His eyes looking through the darkness of the night and the rain. He looked to the mountain path beside the house. He knew something was up, but could not quite place it. The feeling was too familiar. He caught a glimpse of Cloud taking their friends to his house. He started walking towards them. This feeling would have to wait for a while at least. 

Cid lit himself a cigarette and saw Vincent coming towards them. "Well hello, you creepy little bastard. Long time since I've seen your ass." 

Vincent raised his eyebrow. By now he had grown accustomed to Cid's strange greetings. He looked down as he felt someone tugging on his pants' leg. Marlene looked up at him smiling. She had grown a little. 

"Hi Vinny...!" she said, happily. 

Vincent just smiled back and looked to Barret and Cid. "Hello once again." 

"Same to you. Marlene seems to have taking a liking to you for some reason," Barret replied, "Anyway we a lot of damn talk to catch up on. Have not heard from any of you in a while." 

"Yes, by the way, where if Tifa? Do not tell me her ass moved already," Cid asked. 

"She is working at the bar. I will pick her up later," Cloud said, "She does not like to bothered while she is working." 

Cid and Barret nodded as they inside Cloud's house before they got soaked. Vincent followed them inside with Marlene following him. 

------- 

He looked up the rain pelting upon him. It irritated his wound and made it burn like fire. His face glowed in the night since it had grown so pale. He had been staggering in the street until he leaned against a wooden structure to rest a moment. 

He heard someone shut a door and lock it. He looked in that direction. A woman was closing up the town bar. He remembered her from somewhere. Her dark brown long hair caught his eye. Whoever she was he already liked her hair.. He shook his head. He should not be thinking such thoughts. Then, it came to him. She was a member of AVALANCHE. She was Tifa... 

"_Do not harm them.... Gain their trust... Please show them that you are not evil. Sephiroth, show them you mean no harm,_" a voice said inside his mind. It was the same one he had been following for the past night and day. 

Tifa turned around and caught glimpsed of two glowing green eyes in the dark. She blinked. Why would someone be out in this weather? He was leaning against the wooden structure in the middle of town. She slowly walked up towards him. The dark had covered up most of his facial features. All she could see were his eyes. He was an Ex-Soldier. 

"Sir? Is something wrong?" she asked. 

Sephiroth tensed, but realized she did not recognize him. He felt relieved. For now he would continue to trust the voice. The voice was comforting and soothing and he knew her somehow. He believed it and decided to do what he was told. He winced slightly feeling more rain run over his wound. He could feel his hand covered in blood. 

Tifa glanced down at the man's hand. She gasped slightly. Even in the dark she could see the crimson that stained him. She gently grabbed his free hand and motioned him to follow her. She would not leave him out here to die. She would feel guilty, even if she did not know him. She looked at him, her face filled with concern. 

"Come with me. I will help you tend to that, you do not need to die," she said, pulling him towards her house. 

Sephiroth followed her without saying a word. He looked at her, strangely. It was a good thing she did know who he was. Otherwise she would try to kill him. That is not what he needed at the moment. 

"_Gain her trust... Trust her. The Planet wills it,_" the voice said to him. He mentally nodded. 

Tifa lead him inside her house and fumbled for the light switch. She turned it on, but the lights did not come on and she cursed at them. She looked to him and slowly begun to lead him upstairs being guided the little light that came through the windows.. There she could get what she needed to tend to him and some candles. 

"The lightning must have knocked out the power. I will just let you lay down upstairs while I get some candles and some medical supplies that I need," Tifa said to him. 

Sephiroth nodded and slowly went to her bed before he collapsed in utter exhaustion. He composed himself and placed upon a mask that he was accustomed to. He refused to show pain. Pain only made other people worry and the last thing he ever wanted to do at the moment was draw attention to himself. 

_Become the shadows and you will live for now._

-------   
  
**This chapter got short fron the original, but oh well. Anyway I hope all of my old readers like the newer stuff in here and the revamping of the older.**   



	3. Chapter II: Oh, How the Dead Speak

Disclaimer: I forgot that these things get really old, really fast. I repeat myself... I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor am I making a profit from this. If you sue me all you will get are my swords, old but reliable computer. My cat you will not get unless you pry him from my cold lifeless hands.   
  
  
  


Chapter 2:   
Oh, How the Dead Speak 

_If we could all just_   
_Look beyond what one has done_   
_In past times._   
_Then, this world would be a better_   
_Existence and we would have more friends._   
  
  


He heard her moving about in the bathroom as he laid there. When she arrived in the room, he watched her attentively. He felt guilty. He had killed her parents and now she had accepted him into her house without knowing whom he was. She pulled over a small table to near the middle of the bed and placed her unlit candle atop of the table along with her supplies. Sephiroth closed his eyes, but quickly opened them when he heard her drop something. She stared at him with her eyes as big as saucers. Her face was a combined mix of surprise, hatred, and slight fear. Her lit candle slipped from her hand. He quickly got up and caught the candle before it hit the ground. 

"Sephiroth..." Tifa spat out. 

"Are you trying to burn down your house?" he inquired ignoring her surprise. 

"You...!" Tifa said, raising her fist and made contact with his face 

His went in the direction of the punch, but he was barely harmed by it. A small bruise begun to form where she had made contact. She punched at him again, but caught her fist in his hand. She tried with her left and that too was caught inside of his other hand. He stood there not hurting her hands, but grasping them enough so she could not escape with his head towering over hers. 

"Let me go, you bastard!" she screamed. 

He chuckled in slight amusement. "Calm down. Your anger is clouding your sight," he replied. 

Tifa looked up at him. She would not show fear. She would not allow him the pleasure of it. After all this is what he fed off of. Her eyes were locked with his. It was strange as she started to notice how he actually looked. His eyes glowed with an unnatural gentleness to them. They held no threatening emotion to them, but strangely enough showed underlying kindness. She didn't even see any hatred to them. She tore her eyes away from his. The room grew silent. Then, she lifted her foot and delivered a swift kick to his chest wound. 

Sephiroth let her hands go as he grimaced in pain. His hand immediately went to his wound. He glared at Tifa. His other hand clinched itself into a fist ready to strike her down. 

"_Sephiroth... no.. You must not harm her...!_" 

He stopped and slowly released his fist while clearing the anger from his mind. Tifa looked at him, oddly. Why wouldn't he fight back? She noticed his whole figure for the moment. He was standing straight and was not showing any signs of being hurt. Now his legs were shaking and his eyes seemed to have lost some of their glow and show the fatigue they grasped him.. The weariness was all starting to wear down on him. Then, she noticed the dried crimson in his hair and on his face. For some reason she started to feel sorry for him. She shook her head. 

"He is nothing, but a murderer. There is nothing to feel sorry for him about," she thought to herself. 

"I do not blame you for wanting to kill me right now. Not after all that has happened to you that I have caused. If it is your wish to see my end then by all means please see through to it," Sephiroth said quietly. 

She raised her fist. Then, winds suddenly came through the window and whipped at both of them. It was strange she had not noticed it was open before now. The wind blew through her hair and seemed to push her towards him. She unclenched her fist to shield her hair from blowing all over the place. Something was definitely odd about today. The wind seemed to dance in the room and held a certain angelic touch to it. Sephiroth just looked up. He already knew whose presence was scattered about in the wind. 

_Trust him... Tifa, believe me I would never lie to you..._

Tifa looked about in confusion. She must have been hearing things. It was bad enough that HE was still alive, but now she was hearing the voice of Aeris?! 

"You think I am going to kill you, don't you?" Sephiroth asked, his voice filled with amusement. 

"And why not?! Killing me should not be any different for you!" Tifa answered, not in the best of moods. 

He laughed a little. "If I was going to kill you, don't you think I would have done so long ago?" 

His tone was mocking. She did not like it at all. She clinched her fists again, but could not attack him. Something was holding her back, but what? That is when she felt Aeris's presence in the wind. Her long trusted friend was telling her what years of pain told her not to do. The wind slowly danced into the form of Aeris, who smiled her so loving smile she always had at Tifa. 

She ran her fingers through the air. "Aeris.. but how...?" 

_Tifa, I have never steered you wrong but please believe me.. You must spare his life. The Planet wants him here and I promise he will not harm you. You will understand in due time, but for no please watch over him for me._

The wind faded from the room and all that was left was the pouring of rain. Tifa turned to stare at Sephiroth. He had not budged from his position. She sighed not knowing why she was going to do what she did next, but out of her love and trust of Aeris. She walked over to him and gently pushed him to lie down again. 

"I do not know why I doing this..." she said, "But if you try anything, I will hurt you." 

He nodded in silent compliance. He didn't speak a word as he watched her work in the candlelight, which seemed to compliment her facial features. 

Tifa did not like him staring at her. His eyes were unnerving. She began to clean the wound and felt him tense at her touch. She looked up at him, but his face showed no signs of pain of course his eyes told differently. Sephiroth, no matter how changed Aeris said he was, was still cold, aloof, and too stubborn to admit any weakness. Once all the dried blood was gone, she began to disinfect the wound. Unconsciously, her eyes began to wander over his chest. Unknowing to her, she blushed slightly. She could not help but to admire how well built he was, even if he was thinner than he should be. She shook her head of such thoughts and went back to the matter at hand. 

Sephiroth smirked. She was embarrassed. For what reasons he was unsure of. He saw her cringe about something. He tilted his head. 

"What is it?" he asked, "Something has gotten to you." 

"I have to stitch it up... It is not something I enjoy doing," she responded and he nodded. 

Tifa took out a needle and some medical thread. She told herself to think of it as stitching up clothes. She took a deep breath and began to stitch up the wound. Once she got the first stitch down, she looked to Sephiroth for a reaction. He did not flinch nor did he show any signs of pain. She continued on, seeing this. It was not that she could not stand the sight of blood or wound it is just that she hated to have to sew people up like they were her dresses. It had always unnerved her no matter who it was. 

After what seemed like an eternity she finally finished and covered the wound in bandages. Sighing in relief that the whole ordeal was over. She looked to him after finishing the last knot. 

"There, I'm finished," she said. 

"Thank you," he replied, nodding. 

He stared at her a moment before finally giving in to exhaustion and closing his eyes. Tifa looked at him. She was still questioning Aeris's reasoning. She turned and closed the window and stared out. The rain was not going to stop anytime soon. Her gazed shifted back to Sephiroth, who was asleep. He was shivering profusely. She slowly draped a comforter over his form. His shivering calmed down. She stared at him for a second. His features seemed so gentle under the candle light. His hair billowed out around him. She could not help but to notice he looked so angelic when asleep. 

Tifa shook her head. "Tifa, this is Sephiroth you are thinking about. You are just suffering from not getting over Cloud and being... lonely..." 

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when a knock came to her door. She quickly raced from her room to answer it. She found Cloud waiting at her doorstep and she opened the door. 

"Hi Tifa, thought I would drop by to talk to you for a moment," Cloud said, "Can I come in?" 

"Sure, but watch your step. The power is out," she replied. 

He nodded and handed her a box he had hidden behind his back. "A present for you. I hope you like it," he said. 

Tifa carefully undid the wrapping and opened the box. Her eyes gleamed with happiness as she gazed at the dress she had wanted for so long. She walked over and hugged Cloud, tightly. 

"Thank you so much, but why?" she said. 

"Glad you are happy. Tifa, I have been thinking for the past few days and realized that.. well I needed to repay you for your kindness to me." he said. 

"Oh," she answered her voice was filled with disappointment.. 

Cloud smiled and decided to leave it at that. He excused himself out leaving Tifa at her door, sobbing. What a fool she was for thinking that he came to apologize and take her back. She threw the dress across the floor and sobbed until she fell into an uneasy sleep on her kitchen floor. 

------- 

In the old Shinra building one lone man worked silently through the night on two figures suspended in mako before him. He smiled as a monitor gave him a positive sign of life. Writing down on his clipboard he turned his chair to his computer module. He began to check off things on a list and then looked at the computer screen. 

"So as he predicted his life force is present again. Good maybe now I can get the prototype for this project and compare him to my results," the man said with a small smile. 

------- 

Vincent found it extremely rude to interrupt someone in the middle of the night, but he had followed a trail of blood to Tifa's house. A rather faint trail that he would be surprised that any normal human could follow it. He knocked on her door and soon enough she answered with her eyes half closed. 

"Yes, Vincent? What is it?" Tifa asked. 

"Are you okay? I just followed a trail of blood to here," he replied. 

"Oh I am fine..." she said. 

Vincent suddenly barged past her and ran up the stairs. Tifa ran after him desperately as she saw him turn into her room where she was harboring Sephiroth. It was too late when flew through the door and saw Sephiroth sleeping soundly on her bed. She got in front of him and did not allow him to pass. She thought he would go after and kill him since now that he had discovered him. 

"Yes.. but Vincent allow me to explain...." Tifa replied. 

Vincent sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. He knew this was going to take a while so he might as well sit down for it. He watched her closely as she started pacing the floor. He did not know where to begin. 

"Tifa, relax, I am not going to harm him," Vincent explained, "In fact I knew this would happen that he would return." 

Tifa gave him a puzzled look and sat dow to listen to his explanation of what seemed to be complete and utter madness. 

"Lucrecia has been visiting me in my dreams for quite some time. To spare you from the long story she kept repeating something along the lines of 'you must protect him.' I did not realize who she was talking about until last night when she finished what she was saying. 'You must protect him, my son...' " Vincent sighed a moment and continued, "I knew he would come to me somehow soon. I wish to stay here and help you. His reason for being here is something of great importance which only the dead know." 

"I guess that is reassuring, but I have had the same occurrences happen in my dreams. Aeris kept telling me to not be frightened of the events about to occur, but trust in her guidance. She said a visitor would come and help with an event coming to us in due time. I never paid attention to it until I saw her today. I believe her no matter what the others may think of me," Tifa replied, "I know she would not lead me into any danger." 

Vincent laid his eyes upon the man sleeping on the bed. His chest rose and fell with each breath. Sephiroth was alive as Lucrecia had said, how Vincent would not comprehend at the moment. He looked to Tifa, who was about as confused as he was about the whole situation. 

"Fate can hand you strange things to deal with," Vincent commented, "And this is one of them." 

"Vincent, could you stay here tonight? I would feel better if someone helped me watch him in case he tried something," Tifa asked. 

"Sure. It would make me feel better as well. I will sleep up here. I will allow you to take the couch downstairs," Vincent replied. 

Tifa nodded and fetched him some extra blankets to sleep on. She thanked him and went to sleep on the couch that night. Vincent laid out the sheets on the floor and slept in the corner of Tifa's room that night. 

------- 

It was well into the later part of the next day before Sephiroth decided to wake up. He recalled the events of last night. He looked at his bandages to find they been changed. He sat up on his elbows and looked around the room. He saw a makeshift cot made in the corner. He started to wonder who in hell had slept there. It could not have been Tifa considering how military arranged it looked. This whole situation had made his mind a jumble of thoughts and confusion. All he could do for the moment is go with whatever was handed to him. 

"I see sleepy head finally decided to wake up," Tifa said in slight amusement. 

Sephiroth looked up and saw Tifa standing in the doorway of the room. Her arms were crossed and she seemed slightly agitated and amused at the same time. He looked back towards the cot again and then looked up at Tifa. She sighed and began to talk. 

Tifa shook her head and sighed. "Vincent knows you are here...." 

"That would explain the cot," he thought. 

"I see Aeris told you of my arrival," he stated quietly, "And to answer your question, no, I do not why I am here." 

Tifa's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you?!" 

Sephiroth smirked and a small, deep laugh escaped his lips. "I can read your mind just like I were a children's book." That was a trick of his handed down by the experiments of the oh wondrous one on tapping Sephiroth's full abilities. 

Tifa's hand twitched. She forgot how annoying he could be. Then, she glared. "You better not make a habit out of it." 

He laughed again and nodded with a smirk. 

"And keep in mind I am only letting you stay here because of Aeris. So I would not push your luck," she quipped. 

He shook his head and stood up on his feet. He walked towards her in a cat like manner. He stopped not six inches apart from her. Tifa kept her glare on him. He towered over her. She knew he was trying to intimidate her. His eyes seemed to pierce through her. It was eerie and unnerving. Feeling a pain in her neck from looking up she brought her head back down. She blushed slightly realizing it was a mistake to look down. That now brought her eye level with his chest. Sephiroth smiled slightly and began to walk downstairs. 

When she caught her composure, Tifa went after him and grabbed his arm, roughly. Vincent looked up from his meal as he sat at the table. He eyed the two as they walked downstairs. 

"And where do you think you are going?" Tifa asked, clearly not in a pleasant mood. 

"Downstairs if you do not mind," Sephiroth replied. 

"You do realize you are not supposed to be out of bed," she said in slight anger. 

He brushed her off by motioning his hand as he walked downstairs. Tifa sighed and allowed him to. You could not blame her for being too cautious since the man did after all have kill many people in the blink of an eye. He walked over to the table and sat down near Vincent. She laughed to herself. Both of them had the same expression on their face and sat very similar. She walked over to the counter and set two more plates on the table with food on them. 

"I know you must be hungry because you are thin as stick," she said sitting down. 

Sephiroth nodded in silence thanks and began to eat himself secretly wondering if she had poisoned the food. 

"Vincent, I can watch him tonight. I would like to be alone tonight." Tifa questioned. 

"Sure," Vincent nodded, "I will return in the morning to check on the two of you." 

Sephiroth looked up at them. His eyes glinted a hint of displeasure. "You do not have to treat me as if I were a child who   
needs to be tended to." 

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Well both of us do not exactly trust you." 

The tension could be felt between the three during all of dinner. After finishing the meal, they all set off doing separate tasks. Sephiroth decided to take a shower to relieved his face and hair of his own blood. Tifa took this time to start sulking over Cloud's picture in her bedroom like she did almost every day now. Vincent went to his mansion to retrieved some clothing for Sephiroth and of course this was after Sephiroth requested it. He was soon to return. Leaving the clothes by the bathroom door, Vincent went back home. 

Tifa sat in front of her mirror, noticing how pitiful she looked. This caused her to start sobbing even more as she laid her head upon her vanity dresser and allowed her tears to fall upon the mahogany wood. 

Sephiroth stepped out of the bathroom with his clean clothes on and noticed the sounds of weeping coming from Tifa's room. He usually was not one to intrude on other people's affairs, but he did owe the woman one from saving him from dying. He knocked her door, gently. 

"Go away! I am not in the mood to talk, Vincent. Do not worry about me I am just not in a good mood because a certain blond," Tifa said. 

Sephiroth stepped back away from the door with a puzzling expression plastered upon his face. He knew from the pictures and when he had saw them in his dreams that Tifa and Cloud were in a relationship. Not that it mattered to him on their petty problems. He just was curious how the 'blond boy' could cause a woman like Tifa of strong resolve to break down and cry. He walked off and ignored her sobbing besides making people happy was not his best aspect at all. He turned his attention to a bookshelf he had saw earlier. He quickly picked out something that did not resemble anything of too romantic quality. He walked downstairs and dropped down into a chair and started to read. He had decided being quiet was the best of his options right now until he could figure out what was happening, who he could truly trust, and what was his purpose. 

His eyebrows furrowed when the sounds of a frivolous woman's sobs came into his ears. He had always found it extremely annoying and hard to read without disruption. His eye twitched and closed the book before even getting done with reading the first page. His eyes shifted looking around the room for something vaguely interesting to do. 

"Dammit, now, I can't even get my reading done," Sephiroth complained to himself. 

_Patience is a virtue._

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and wished he could talk back to those voices. How dare they always intrude on him. They were more often an annoyance than a helping since they mainly talked about nonsense. He rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming on. He had gotten them quite frequently before he was encased in the materia. He picked up his book again and bared through the noises so he finally got to read, but his thoughts still wondered mostly about what Cloud could have possibly done or why in the hell these voices wanted so badly to impose a headache on him. 

"Dead people just do not know when their mouths need to be shut," Sephiroth thought to himself. 

_They shall rue the day they sent me there! Revenge always comes in the sweetest of tastes._

Sephiroth immediately looked up. He felt this talking presence very nearby. His headache seemed to scream at him now. In a vain attempt to stop it he placed his hand to his temple while looking for this presence near him. The only sight that greeted him was that of the same house he had been in. Sephiroth slid back into the chair and closed his eyes. Today was going to be a very long day. 

-------   
Author's Notes: All of you are going to kill me but the revamp chapters may take longer than a week to complete. I'm sorry. bows Do not hurt me. The next chapter will involve more around Vincent and Yuffie. No pun intended and there will be no Yuffie/Vincent relationships here. I am strongly against them and there is no changing my mind.   
  
  
  



	4. Chapter III: Consuming Chaos

Disclaimer: I still do not own Final Fantasy VII. I am very poor and will most likely be living in my car very soon. Working part time as a light decorator do not pay that much. :points out that me practically starving self to feed pets: 

Chapter 3:   
Consuming Chaos 

Yuffie was leaning over a small desk looking on this accursed books that she was forced to study. She never really got the point of ever reading about her history anyway. None of it really mattered in her opinion. All she wanted to do was to go out and kick some ass and pick up some materia along the way. Then, she saw her father pass by her room. 

"In ancient times a man of great power rose up and went against the council of Cetra and even the Planet itself. His power was unrivaled and he had many followers that believed in his great truth that he preached to everyone..." Yuffie trailed off, seeing her dad had long gone by. 

She went back to her idle boredness.   
------ 

Sephiroth groaned to himself, his head was still hurting and worse he was starting to see things. If he did not know better he would think Jenova was still alive. Shadows passed him by every now and again. If only they would stop and leave him be. No, when you are wanted man nothing ever seems to leave you alone. It was the way of the world. 

Sephiroth tossed and turned, relentlessly, in his sleep. His brow furrowed in tension and sweat covered his forehead. His breathing was labored and his heart pounded within his chest. The blankets of the bed long since tossed to the floor. He had curled up on his side, his hands gripping his head. His expression was very pained. Voices seemed to boom inside his head. 

_The results are showing drastic increases in his senses and physical abilities..._

_Good. Increase his dosage of mako by 25..._

Tifa woke up from all of the noise. She had allowed Vincent to take the couch that night. She started to wonder what all the noise was. She looked to her bed and found Sephiroth curled up on his side in obvious pain. She rushed to his side. His hands were clutched so tightly to his head that she thought he would break his own skull. In a desperate attempt to wake him, she started to shake him. 

"Sephiroth.. come on. wake up..." she said, her voice was full of concern. 

She managed to pry one of his hands from his head. The hand that she pried squeezed hers. She blushed slightly, but shook it off quickly. She placed the back of her other hand to his forehead. He did not have any fever, but was slightly warmer than normal. As much as she would hate to admit it she did not like seeing him in this much pain. It gripped at her heart. He looked as if someone were slowly torturing him into a slow death. She pushed back his hair from his face and lightly touched the side of his cheek. She was relieved when his breathing finally calmed and his grip on his head loosened. Although, the gentle, yet firm grip he held on her hand did not loosen. 

She smiled slightly as his eyes opened, lazily. His eyes' glow had dimmed and now they seemed to retain a hint of his chaotic side. Her eyes widened in slight fear when she noticed this. His grip on her hand tightened painfully. He looked up at her with his brow furrowed in hate. 

"Sephiroth..." she said, her voice yielding some confusion in it. 

His features suddenly calmed and his eyes ceased to hold that hint of chaos. His grip on her hand loosened, but he still held it within his grasp. 

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, running her thumb across the back of his hand. 

She did nothing to break her hand from his. In fact she enjoyed the feel of his hand upon hers. His grip was gentle, but held an underlying strength that he hid. His gaze shifted until he noticed the odd situation he found himself in. He took his hand from hers; a hint of disgust with himself glinting in his eyes. 

"I am fine," he replied, coldly. 

"Excuse me for caring. I just did not think that disturbed sleep of yours was normal," she snapped back. 

His eyes narrowed in slight anger. "It is no concern of yours to be worried over my dreams and how they affect me," he said. 

Her eyes twitch and she quickly went back over to her cot. She could not stand his cold attitude. She threw her blankets back over herself. She cursed her luck when she realized that she could still see him. He had risen and leaned his back against the head board of the bed. He was looking off into one direction, trapped in his mind. She damned her caring side at the moment, but she could not help it; he looked so lost. She sat up slightly in her cot. 

"If you are not going back to sleep then tell me what was wrong with you?" she asked, not really expecting a reply. 

"It is nothing you should worry over," he replied, "It is a matter I only concern myself with." 

She knew there was something he was hiding from her. She could not place her finger on it, but she had some idea it would have to do with the chaos that she saw that filled his eyes. She gave up on the matter of it for now. She laid back down on the cot and drifted back to sleep. 

Sephiroth was relieved when she finally went back to sleep. He did not need to bother the world with his own problems. They were only his concern in the first place and should remain that way. He placed his arm over his head and took a deep breath. His head still hurt and sleep would only worsen it. He leaned his head back against the wall. He could only wait until morning came. 

It seemed like an eternity's wait before the first rays of dawn entered the eastern sky. Tifa's alarm clock went not off not too long afterwards. Annoyed by the thing, Sephiroth hit the off button rather roughly. He was not in the mood to put up with the extra noise. His headache was already pounding as it was. His expression stayed indifferent as Tifa rose from the cot. 

Tifa yawned and looked in Sephiroth's direction out of the corner of her eye. She rolled her eyes. It was too predictable that he did not allow himself to fall asleep after the incident last night. She shrugged it off and went to her closet to retrieve a change of clothes. She would have to work today. Her hands trembled slightly at this. Her mind ran over the number of possibilities that could happen while she was gone. Most of which did not have a good outcome. 

Behind herself she could hear the slight creaking of the floor. She assumed it was Sephiroth. She heard him leave the room and she quickly got into getting ready for work. 

Sephiroth went downstairs finding Vincent contemplating over what to have for breakfast. Vincent acknowledged the other man's presence by glancing at him for a second. He went back to the refrigerator and got what he needed to cook for breakfast. Sephiroth decided it would be best to stay out of the way. He sat down in a chair and stared into the air. His mind in deep thought over the eerie feeling he had. 

Cloud sat down at his table. Barret and Cid were engaged in a game of poker. Marlene was watching both of them. The room was silent except for the occasional curse word from Cid or remark from Barret. Outside dark clouds were forming in the sky. It was going to rain again. 

Cloud had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Something was amiss in this town. There was nothing out of the normal that he could see. It was something that bothered him, and usually these feelings of his were not wrong. He got up from his chair and walked just outside his front door. The air was filled with a certain dampness that usually signified rain was coming. He looked to the sky and a few drops fell into his face. 

Then, he heard the shutting and locking of a door. He looked to Tifa's house to find her running to her work to avoid getting soaked. He smiled and realized what was out of normal placement. Tifa had come over once to visit their friends for the five days they had been there. Usually, she would be spending as much time with them as she could. He decided he would pry into the matter later. The rain started pouring and he ventured back into his house. 

"Cloud, ya sure you not goin' play with us?" Barret asked. 

"No thanks," Cloud replied. 

"Something is getting to you, spikey," Cid remarked, "Any other time you would join in. Tell us what is wrong." 

"I just have a feeling that something is not right around here lately," Cloud answered, "But I guess it is nothing of importance." 

Cid handed Cloud a hand of cards and smiled slightly. "Then, let's get to this damn game already." 

Cloud chuckled to himself. Cid was always pushy when it came to card games. If you didn't play, you would never hear the end of his cursing and insults. Of course for Cid that was a normal daily routine. 

Night had fallen upon Midgar before activity at the bar began to slow down. Only a group of three people were left sitting in the corner. They were whispering among one another so they would not be heard. Ryu, Michelle, and Tifa were cleaning up the rest of the bar. If no one else showed up in the next thirty minutes they would consider an early closing. 

"I am starting to wonder what in the hell is so interesting about their conversation," Michelle stated. 

"Now, you are getting to be quite nosey," Ryu replied, "Now, I know why they are whispering." 

Michelle got infuriated and hit Ryu's head with her hand. A nice red mark started to appear where she hit him. He took the punishment silently and went back to cleaning the table he was on. Tifa was at the cash register with her chin resting in her hand. It was still raining outside. This night looked vaguely familiar to not too long ago when she found him. Of course that night was not as quiet as this one. Her gaze fell upon the three customers left in the corner. 

All of them seemed familiar in a respect, but she had never seen them before. All were dressed in black and held a certain sense of duty about them. Her gaze shifted back to counting the money in cash register. Michelle had went in back to fetch more drinks for them. Tifa paid her no mind and closed the cash register and went over to finish sweeping the floor for her. 

Michelle opened the door to the storage unit to find the Wutai wine of them had requested. She went into the very back and found the crate she was searching for. She smiled slightly in relief they even had any. She picked up a bottle and stood up again. 

A sharp pain resonated throughout her skull and she dropped the bottle. The glass shattering at her feet and the red colored wine spilling onto the floor. Michelle fell back, unconscious, and a wound in her head bleeding. A figure stood behind her, the butt of his gun covered in her blood. The figure sighed and began walking towards the front of the bar. 

Ryu heard something shatter in the storage room as did Tifa. "Tifa, you stay here I will go see if Michelle is all right." 

Tifa nodded and got this suspension that something was definitely wrong. She would prepare herself for the worst if need be. 

Ryu closed the door to the back behind himself. It was too quiet. He could not even hear Michelle cursing herself as she would usually do. Worry started to build inside of himself. He walked to the storage room to find the door open. He walked inside and found Michelle lying on the floor, unconscious and bleeding. He gasped knowing she couldn't have done this to herself. He turned around quickly and caught a glimpse of someone fleeing to the front. 

"Tifa watch out!" Ryu shouted, hoping she would hear him. 

Knowing for well he could not help her if a fight broke out, he started heading for Cloud's house. He was stopped in mid-run when the person he saw pass by hit him unconscious as well. The figure opened the door to the front and smiled. 

Tifa had already took a fighting stance when she heard Ryu's shouting. The three people in the corner had stood up and looked towards her. She knew they were involved somehow. She quickly glanced at the new arrival in the room. 

"I do not want any trouble here. So if you would just surrender yourselves it would save all of us a lot of trouble," Tifa stated. 

"I do not think so Ms. Lockhart. We are here on official business and will not back down from it," the figure with the gun said as he tucked back a lock of blond hair behind his black hood. 

"Official business? If this was official business then you would not make such an entrance. So I figure you were hired for some reason," Tifa replied. 

One of three patrons laughed. They started towards her with their weapons posed and ready for battle. Tifa slowly backed out of the bar and into the street. At least there she would have more room to defend herself. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky as the four followed her outside. 

"If you try to run we will just have to come after you," the female of the group stated. 

Tifa stood firm in the mud with her fists raised. There was no avoiding this fight. All she could do is hope this would be over soon. All of them were slowly getting battered by the rain and becoming soaked. Another lightning flash and the fighter of the group charged for her. 

She easily blocked his first attack and countered with a swift punch into his jaw. The man's head reeled back, but snapped forward again. He delivered a kick to her legs causing Tifa to waver slightly in her stance. She quickly regained balance and kicked him to the ground just in time to be hit with a wave of electricity. She bite back a scream of pain. She did not need to get innocent people into this fight. 

She backhand the person who caused the attack. The gunner took the safety off of his gun and aimed for her head. She saw this and dodged just in time. The bullet gazed the side of her shoulder. A small rivet of blood formed on the wound. The gun did not echo. It had a silencer placed upon it. These fighters were good and she was only one person. Tifa started to realize fighting them alone was useless, but she had to try. 

Sephiroth sat on the couch staring out the window of the house. The storm had begun to pick up its strength not too long ago. Vincent had gone home for a moment to get something of his. Sephiroth did not see the reason why the man trusted him to stay in this house. He smirked. All of them must have been losing their edge. The rain slowly beat against the window obscuring his vision of the outside slightly. He noticed Tifa was coming out of the bar. 

He knew something was wrong. Her fists were raised and she looked tense. He shrugged. It was probably a few patrons that had gotten out of control and felt the need to fight. Tifa was a strong woman and she could bring them down. He saw no need to help her. Instead he watched the battle begin from the window. 

His pupils widened slightly when he saw her trying to catch her breath. The four fighters were proving a little too much for her. He sighed and got up from the couch. Maybe it was time for a little intervention from a third party. 

Tifa had managed to severely wound the female of the group. Unfortunately the other three were aiding their comrade and made this a lot harder than it seemed. Tifa stood up once more and resumed a fighting stance. They had managed to get a few blows in on her. They were not causing enough damage for her to release her limit break yet. 

"Well do you give up yet?" the gunner asked, "You are wearing down and it will not be long before we win this..." 

The gunner stopped in mid sentence. He looked to the others and said something that Tifa could not hear. He turned to stare straight ahead and aimed his gun for something behind Tifa. Tifa glanced over her shoulder and saw a pair of glowing green eyes walking towards them. She raised her eyebrow. 

"_Now why would he come to help_?" she asked herself. 

"Four against one is not what I would call good odds.. now is it?" Sephiroth said, cracking his knuckles. He acknowledged Tifa when he looked to her for a moment. "Mind if I cut in on your fun?" 

Tifa nodded at him and smiled slightly in silence thanks. Sephiroth took a fighting stance with his fists beside her. Even without Masamune he would be a force to be reckoned with. The four enemies prepared for another attack despite the new arrival. The male fist fighter went first. Tifa took him on once more. 

The other male with the rod went for Sephiroth. Sephiroth easily dodged his attack and backhanded him into the ground. The rod user got up and went for him once more. This attempt was also greeted with a mouthful of dirt and and added elbow jab in his back. 

The gunner of the group said something to the other member and motioned the other two to follow them. All four started running for the outside of the town. Sephiroth started after them, but he was stopped when Tifa pulled on the bottom of his shirt to stop him. She shook her head. 

"Let them go. No use in pursuing them unless they come back for more," she said. 

"Hmph..." he looked to her, "Are you... all right?" 

His words seemed forced to some degree, but she did not care. It surprised her slightly that he would even ask it. She had not seen him as the kind of person that would care about another's well being. She dusted her clothes off and looked at him. 

"I am fine, but thanks for your help. They were a troublesome group," Tifa answered. 

He nodded and stared at her for a moment. She was soaked to the bone and shivered slightly. He had the strongest inclination to hold her so she would warm up. He mentally growled at himself for thinking such things. She gasped realizing something she had forgot. 

"Ryu and Michelle! They are still in the bar. I have to see if they are all right!" Tifa said, running back inside the bar. 

Sephiroth followed her back into the bar in case those four decided to show up once more. He found Tifa setting Ryu against a wall and checking his wound. She found some bandages in the back and wrapped his head with it. 

"Sephiroth, go check in the storage room back there for Michelle, please," she said as she tended Ryu, "Bring her in here if you find her." 

He nodded and walked back into the storage room. The room carried the distinct smell of blood in the air. He walked to the back of the room and found Michelle on her back and her head lying in a small puddle of blood. He picked the girl up with ease and carried her back to Tifa. When finishing with Ryu, she started tending to Michelle. 

Sephiroth watched her as she worked. She was gentle with her movements and touch. From this he figured that she was a caring person. She had to be otherwise she would have never helped him. He sighed mentally and noticed that she would need a change of clothes before she got sick from it. 

"I am going to take them home to their families. I can not do much more for them here," she said. 

"I will carry them. It will go much faster that way," he replied. 

Tifa nodded and Sephiroth took one of them in each arm. Tifa led him to their houses where Michelle and Ryu were dropped off with their families. The rain started to pour harder. Both she and Sephiroth were soaked to the bone. They hurried home in the darkness to the dry and warm confines of her home. Tifa went to her room and quickly changed into dry clothes. 

She found Sephiroth downstairs when she returned. He sat at a chair near the kitchen table. His head was in his hand. His hair was wet and hung about his shoulders playing about his features. Tifa walked over to him slowly. She had a feeling something was wrong. She sat down in the chair next to him and looked at him, cautiously. She had learned in the few days he had stayed with her that he was not one to talk. He never once started a conversation nor did he express anything. Of course she had also learned he was not that bad of person. 

Though, she did hate his horrible temperament and almost constant sarcasm. Shaking her mind from her thoughts, she gently removed his hand from his head. He flinched slightly. He did not like being touched. He had never grown accustomed to it and was not about to make a habit out of it now. Something clicked inside of her mind and concern flashed across her eyes. 

"The wound on your chest... did you reopen it?" she asked. She knew he had been moving more than he should have in the past few days. She hoped the small battle and carrying her two employees home and done nothing serious to him. 

"No, its fine. Really the stitches should be taken out soon," he replied, his voice monotone. 

"As deep as that cut was I do not think so," Tifa said, her voice very commanding. 

Sephiroth took off his shirt and began to unwrap the bandages around his chest. Tifa watched him the entire time. Once he was done he looked to her. He was right. The skin under the stitching had fused together and was most likely strong enough to have the stitches removed. He had healed quickly. Her eyes started to wonder from his wound to gaze at his entire chest. 

Tifa could not help it. He was highly toned and well sculpted. She watched the movement of his breathing. It was pulling her into a trance and her thoughts wondered. She had to admit he was an attractive man. She quickly found herself blushing and turning her vision to the table. She could feel her eyes drifting once more and reprimanded herself, mentally. 

"_Damn him... And he acts so casually about this whole situation too... Doesn't he ever realize what kind of effect this has on people especially women?_" she thought. 

Sephiroth raised his eyebrow at her. He had caught the reddening in her cheeks. He ran it across his mind to read her thoughts, but decided against it. Some things in life he really did not want to know. He shook his head, but soon regretted the action. He was greeted by the damnable headache that had been plaguing him for a while. Each time it had only gotten worse in intensity. His brow furrowed as he tried to bring the pain under some control. His hand instinctively going to his temple. 

The high pitched shrieking echoed throughout his mind. It was splitting his head and giving him no comfort. Tifa looked at him when she heard his sudden movement. His eyes held pain within them despite his efforts to hide it from her. She noticed that his shoulders were trembling very slightly. The action was barely noticeable, but she managed to see it. 

"Sephiroth, what is wrong?" she asked. Worry started to creep upon her. This was looking eerily similar to the episode he had not too many nights ago. It was something that she did not like. 

"Nothing," he replied. 

She should have suspected that answer. He never wanted to admit when he was in pain. She would just have to start being firm about it. "That is a lie and you know it. What is wrong with your head?" she asked. 

Sephiroth knew she would not easily pushed off from the subject and decided to give in to her. "It hurts and pounds inside my skull," he replied. 

Tifa pressed the back of her palm to his forehead. He did not have a fever. She looked to his eyes and found that a battle was raging within them. What she really did not like was the chaos that had begun to fill them. She remembered this look from him before. Could it have been possible that he was reverting? Tifa knew that he had changed since he came to her. Then, she remembered a time when something similar to this was happening to Cloud. 

It was a battle Cloud had told her once. He would say that the darkness seemed to have a will of its own. It would always try to keep a hold upon its victim. You just had to have the will power to defeat it. Usually, the stronger the hold it had on you before the stronger it would try to claim you again. 

Tifa did not completely understand what was happening. She just knew that she must help him somehow. She looked at Sephiroth, worriedly. Whatever caused her to do this was still a mystery to her. Soon she would realize it would all fall into place. 

"Sephiroth... You can not become who you were, understand? I do not think the Planet would have willed you to live if you were," she said, remembering some the words Aeris had said to her in her dreams. "You have to fight it. You can not succumb to it." 

Sephiroth looked to her and the chaos quickly retreated from his eyes. She sighed in relief. She had to admit she liked him the way he had been for the past few days. Returning to his former self would cause her to hate him and put the world into danger. Sweat glistened upon his forehead and she wiped it away with her sleeve. 

"Go change out of your clothes before you catch a cold," she said. 

He nodded in response and started walking upstairs and into her room. Tifa sat in thought for a while. Strange things were happening and she did not like it. The group at the bar had to have come for something. Otherwise they would not have had 'business' with her or the town. 

Sephiroth stood by the window in the silence of the room. He had changed into a pair of black shorts. He would have to thank Vincent later for the use of his clothes. The headache still ensured itself within his head. He held his hand to his temple and sighed. 

"_What is happening to me? First I get brought back to this miserable existence and now this_," Sephiroth thought to himself, "_The only time I had headaches like these are when Jenova..._" 

_So you figured it out... clever boy._

"_Jenova! How are you even alive! I saw your body dissolve from existence!_" Sephiroth mentally yelled at her. 

_I am not killed so easily, my son. You of all people should know this._

Sephiroth growled. He did not like this at all. If Jenova was alive somewhere she would have only one objective in mind and he knew it. 

_Why have you hesitated to kill them, huh? It would be easy since they trust you as they do. Just slaughter them in the middle of the night. It would be the easiest way to ensure their deaths._

"_I will not kill them. You are the one that wants them dead, not me! As much as I hate most of them I will not kill them. They did me a favor my ending my existence as your play thing. For once I have been given a chance to have a normal life, and now you bother me, you damnable bitch!_" Sephiroth screamed, not in the best of moods. 

Tifa knocked on the door of the room and came in. Sephiroth's narrowed eyes glanced at her for a moment. His mental battle with Jenova was taking most of his attention. Tifa neared him slowly. She knew something was wrong. She could sense it. Tonight was just too strange for something not to be wrong. 

_See, why don't you start with her first? I bet you would enjoy seeing her blood on your sword._

"_Shut up, Jenova! I refuse to be your puppet anymore!_" he yelled. 

_SILENCE FOOLISH BOY! You always had and always will belong to me. Now do as Mother bids and everything will be right with the world._

"_Like in hell it will. Why should I believe you after what you have done to me?_" he replied. 

"Sephiroth, is something wrong?" she asked. 

"No!" he quipped at her, "I am fine so quit asking!" 

"Be that way then! I am only trying to help you and this whole time you have been refusing it. You can be just so... impossible!" Tifa replied. She was definitely not in the mood to put up with him. He just smirked slightly at her response. 

_I am sorry you feel that way. I have no other choice then._

Sephiroth was suddenly hit with an overwhelming pain as his headache increased by ten fold. His every fiber radiated with indescribable pain. He fell to his knees, hissing in pain. Jenova was not pleased with him and was turning his own body against himself. If he would not comply to her willfully, she would break his spirit until she could regain control of his mind once more. 

Tifa has rushed by his side and shook his shoulders. He stared at her, his eyes full of so much pain and agony. His body trembling slightly in her hands. Now she was worried. What the hell could be wrong? 

"Sephiroth!" she yelled trying to get him to respond. 

"Tifa..." was all he managed to get out before he collapsed onto her. 

Tifa found herself in an awkward position, but pushed it aside for now. If Jenova was still alive that Sephiroth was battling her inside himself. She looked down at him, worriedly. She could not move because of his extra weight and he was far too heavy for her to lift by herself. She gasped when his hands clinched her shirt. His face grimaced in pain. He was seeking comfort from his pain. 

She struggled to get out of his grasp, but found herself unsuccessful. She stopped moving and gave up in defeat. She was not going to be able to get up until he regained consciousness. She sat silently staring at him. His body was warm against her own as was his bare chest. 

Tifa began to enjoy the feeling. "_Tifa are you crazy? This is Sephiroth,_" she said to herself. His hands gripped tighter on her shirt and his head rested on her shoulder. Unconsciously, she combed her hand through his silver hair. It was smooth and soft to the touch and untangled. She had to stop herself from continuing this. Though, she admitted to herself she like the feel of being pressed against him like this. She felt butterflies creeping up in her stomach. 

"_Great... I can not believe I am falling for his looks like this. He is handsome that is true... but he has the personality of a rock. Get a hold of yourself, Tifa. This is not the time to be enjoying something such as this,_" she mentally yelled at herself. 

Sephiroth groaned slightly and buried his head deeper into her shoulder. Tifa shook her head and stared down at him. He was not sleeping so peacefully. She stayed like this until sleep claimed her as well. 

The gunner from before took his cell phone into his hand and dialed someone up. He waited a while before someone picked up the other line. 

"Yes.. It is confirmed. Just as he predicted Sephiroth is alive and in Nibelheim," he said into the phone. 

The other three looked at him in anticipation. The conversation on the phone did not last long. The gunner hung the phone up and looked to the others. 

"Orders are to rest up and stay put. And Reno, Rude, Elena... do not try anything stupid until we received orders. Otherwise both of them will be killed," he said to them. 

The other three nodded in compliance. They all to the ground, sadly. They were reduced to this all because of the two that were being held hostage. The fate of Reeve and their comrade rested on their actions. 


	5. Chapter IV: Reunion

Disclaimer: If do not get this by now, that is sad. I do not own Final Fantasy VII. 

Chapter 4:   
Reunion 

The morning sun shone through the curtains of the room. He shifted slightly as the rays of light settled upon his closed eyelids. His dream were haunted by the she demon that seemed to always plague his mind, but these most recent ones were different. Even though, she demon's voice was in the dreams most of the pain of them was caused by someone else. He had an undying hatred for this person, but his mind would not allow him to even think about that damnable man's name. 

Sephiroth's senses finally came back, but he had not opened his eyes yet. He felt that most of himself was lying on the wooden floor of the room. His upper body was sitting up and rested upon something warm and soft. Whatever it was it made him relax. He breathed in and caught the distinct smell of wine mixed with the fragrance of flowers. He felt whatever he was sitting up against move beneath himself. It was breathing in a steady rhythm. It was alive. He opened his eyes. He found that his head was resting against Tifa's shoulder. She was asleep and her hand was grasping his hair, slightly. 

He pulled her hand out of his hair and stared up at her for a moment. He sat up from her and watched as her face seemed disappointed that he was no longer against her. He shook his head. Even if he liked the feeling that he had when he was resting against her. He pushed back the feeling and the emotion; both were foreign to him. He added a mental growl focused at himself. He slowly took to his unsteady feet. The nightmare had consumed some of his strength. It was how she demon had always worked. She would slowly sap him of his strength then consume his senses and conscious thought when he was weak enough. 

Sephiroth forced himself to remain strong. Anything would be better than to be in her grasp. Even being defeating by Cloud again would pale in comparison to being her puppet. He glanced at Tifa again before excusing himself from her room and downstairs. 

He saw that Vincent was already awake and sitting at the table. Vincent had discarded his cloak to a chair leaving him clad in his black shirt. His head was set upon his hands in thought. His crimson eyes shifted slightly to glance at who was coming down the stairs. Then, he went back to staring out into space. 

Cloud stared at his breakfast. Something was up today, but he could not quite place it. Barret and Cid seemed all too happy about something. Cloud secretly smiled to himself. Whatever his friends had planned he knew it would be good. He finished breakfast. Barret and Cid had already finished and were discussing something in the living room. Cloud could not hear what they were murmuring to themselves about. Cloud quietly entered the room and the two stopped talking and looked at him. 

"Good mornin' to you," Cid said, "Took your ass long enough to eat breakfast, didn't it?" 

Cloud shook his head. Cid took a cigarette out of his pack and lit it. Barret picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. Cloud took a seat in his chair. He would not press the subject too much. They would not tell him until they felt ready to and he knew this. He just had a good feeling about all of this, but in the back of his mind lurked a darkness overlooking them all. He paid no attention to it. More important things needed tending to first, like his relationship with Tifa. He would need to call her tonight. 

Around mid-day Cloud walked outside for some fresh air. He stood leaning against his house staring out. The town was relatively quiet except the travelers coming from Mt. Nibel. One of the very few tranquil days this town ever got to see. The wind blew slightly through his untamed hair. Things like this always seemed to calm his troubled mind. He smiled to himself, unconsciously. His eased mind was interrupted when a bunch of people started staring at something nearing the town. 

Cloud decided to pay it no mind. If it was a threat then the people would have started running by now. He looked back at the ground near his boots. He begun to get this feeling of something familiar approaching him. Footsteps carefully crushed the sand beneath them as the presence neared him. Cloud looked up from the ground and his eyes widened slightly. A lion like creature was heading towards him. Cloud immediately recognized the feline and walked over to greet him. 

"Nanaki, what are you doing here? No one told me you were coming," Cloud said. 

"I see. I came to see how everyone is doing. It seems Cid and Barret had my coming as a surprise," Nanaki replied. 

"Ah. Please come inside my house. There we can talk without too much distraction," Cloud responded. 

Nanki nodded in compliance and followed Cloud inside of the house. Cid and Barret were too absorbed in the television and did not notice their arrival. Slowly, Cid turned around in his chair and gave a sly smirk to Cloud. So he had known this all along. Cloud shook his head. It did not matter too much to him now. All he knew was that today was going right and nothing would screw that up. 

Vincent sat at the kitchen table. His chin rested upon his folded hands. His eyes were carting between the window and the man sitting on the couch. It was still hard to believe. That her son was still walking upon this planet. Of course it was eerie as well. All he knew for certain that he would not fail him like he did Lucrecia. If Aeris and her accepted Sephiroth being there, then he would as well. He sighed and looked out the window once more. 

He sighed and stood up from his chair and walked towards the window. He squinted his eyes slightly at the sunlight. He had never gotten out that much since the journey ended. He would have to stay at her house the entire day once again. Tifa had to work and they were not too inclined to trust Sephiroth on his own for too long. 

A shudder passed up through his body. Something was not right. He looked to his crossed arms and sighed to himself. If there was something coming for them, then let it come. He would be ready even if what was coming would not be pleasant. 

Reno lit his fifth cigarette of the hour. He was bored out of his mind as were the other members of his group. Elena sat on the ground with her back against a rock. She was either asleep or just sitting there with her eyes closed. Rude was tending to some of his injuries. Reno looked up at the gunner. 

"So tell me why did you hid your existence until now?" Reno asked, slightly pissed off. 

"Like I told you before I was not healthy until recently," the gunner said. 

"I still think it is kind of funny that you, Rufus, would be demotted to a position such as ours," Reno said, smirking. 

Rufus glared at Reno in a deadly manner. Reno just gave him a cocky smile in return. Rufus retained his composure and surpressed the impulse to pummel Reno. He had to remember that Reno was like that, but it would take some getting used to. 

"I just hope we are not doing this in vein. I mean I hate working for the guy, but we have no choice," Elena said, relieving the tension. 

"If they are your friends it may be in vein if they betray you, but otherwise no, " Rufus replied. 

Elena sighed and pulled her knees up to her chin. Her arms encircled her legs and she closed her eyes. Rude sat in silence, but everyone knew he did not like the situation at all. Rufus sat back down and checked his gun for the millionth time. All they could was wait and hope. 

Eyes peered through glasses and wispy strains of hair. They were gazing through the darknened room at four glowing tanks. Three held within in them living forms that were unconscious. The other was empty, but seemed ready for use soon. The glasses moved as the user adjusted them with his finger. A wry smirk appeared on his face as he neared the tanks. The glowing green was a calming color to him that also represented his life's work. He laughed to himself as he glanced at his creations. A glint of pride flashed across his eyes. 

He walked over to one tank and pressed his hand against it. "Soon... We will have him in our clutches again... And with him the world will be ours to rule," the man said, smirking, "It is only a matter of time." 

The tank glowed, and the thing inside of it seemed to move slightly, twitching its fingers. The man raised his head into the air slightly letting out a cynical laugh. He turned from the tank and walked towards some computer modules. His lab coat flapped lightly behind him as he walked. It was weighed down by whatever the man carried in it. He stood at the main computer and started typing in commands like mechnical robot driven by some outside force. Never once did the smirk leave his face. 

Sephiroth rubbed his temple again as he paced the living room floor. He had another headache that had been raging for most of the morning, but it was not pounding, yet. He glanced at another window with the curtains blurring his view of the outside. They were mocking him. Taunting the fact he could not leave this house and be left alone. He heard laughter echoing throughout his skull, not giving him a moment's piece. He tore his gaze from the window and to a nearby picture on a table. It was of Tifa and the blond man, Cloud. She did not look all that happy, and Cloud seemed his mind was on someone else. 

Sephiroth shook his head, not finding what she saw in the spikey blond. He disliked Cloud to a certain degree, but that was mostly brought on because of a rivalry between the two. He sat down in a nearby chair and leaned his head into it. It was becoming worse moment by moment. He hid his distress due to Vincent not being too far away in the kitchen. 

His thoughts wondered back to the events of this morning. How could he have ended up on her anyway? Unless she caught him when he fell unconscious. Yes, that had to be it. He felt the emotions swirling inside himself once more. He could not understand that either. He pushed them back once more. He looked outside and saw that it was getting dark out. She would not be too long in coming home. He felt his headache increase again and he closed his eyes. 

Cloud exited his house with Nanaki not too far behind him. Cid and Barret were too busy agruing over their poker game to come with them. Cloud walked towards Tifa's bar with Nanaki following him. Both seemed to be in a good mood. They entered the bar to find it lacking customers. Tifa was at the counter, mixing drinks. Cloud walked over to her and bent down so their eyes met. 

"Hello, Tifa. You seem too busy to even notice new arrivals," Cloud said. 

She blushed slightly and smiled. " Sorry, just too busy thinking about other things that is all." 

Cloud shook his head and sat down in a nearby chair. Nanaki jumped into a chair as well and sat done like a feline would. He glanced at Tifa and cocked his head slightly. 

"You look weary. Is something bothering you?" Nanaki asked. 

"No, I have not getting much sleep lately," Tifa replied, smiling slightly. She hoped he did not pry into the matter any further. She did not need the added burden of them finding out as well. 

As if the Planet answered her prayers a new customer entered the establishment. This forced her to leave the conversation for a moment to tend to the person. Unusual was that this new arrival wore a shroud over herself to hide her features and who she was. She sat down next to Cloud and raised her hand ready to order. Tifa walked over in front of her and the girl smiled. 

"Well that is rude. You do not even say hello to someone you know?" The girl said. 

Tifa raised her eyebrow not quite knowing how the girl would know her. That is when she spotted the shuriken attached the girl's back. Tifa smiled. "Sorry, Yuffie, I did not recognize you." 

Cloud's and Nanaki's eyes widened slightly as they too begun to recognize the ninja girl they had grown to protect their materia from. Nonetheless, they were happy to see her once more. They greeted her as well. 

"What brings you here?" Nanaki asked. 

"You can not have a reunion without me, now can you?" Yuffie replied, smiling slightly. 


	6. Chapter V: Illness of Voices

Chapter 5:

Illness of Voices

Sephiroth sat back into the chair with his eyes closed and started to ponder the thought of aspirin. Her presence had finally left him, but a blur of sounds, screams, and words echoed throughout his head, a constant pounding of Cetrain language, Wutai language, and very little of common language. If he were not already deemed insane by most of the mundane world, he would have shouted the fact into the open sky. He opened his eyes for a split second and saw some shadow figure standing over him. Long hair and a long formal trench coat outlined the shadow features.

Sephiroth stared at him for the longest before the shadow man vanished into thin air. Sephiroth relaxed his tense muscles, but was still weary of what just happened. His eyes shifted to Vincent, who was absorbed into a book, lying on the couch.

_Another chance... another day... It will once rain again..._

Sephiroth looked around and saw the shadow figure outside the window in the streets. His arms were crossed and he stared at the sky with his smile. The smile was unnerving. A child ran by him and the shadow went unnoticed. His trenchcoat tickled the boy's face in a sense. The shadow looked upon the boy with forest green eyes that mimicked the serenity of the vast forests. He knelt down and reached his hand out to the child's head only to have it pass through. The man shifted his eyes to stare into Sephiroth's. The man just gave him this malevolent smile that could rival the grins of predators before their squirming prey. The man's long black hair was being blown in the wind. His bangs were the only different colored part being that of silver. The tips of his hair brushed against the water tower behind him. At last he stood and beckoned Sephiroth to come.

_All rain upon and he will rue the day..._

_A desperate struggle for salvation..._

_I can't believe this is happening... Never have I seen something like this..._

The voices boomed inside of his head. The shadow man had long disappeared and left nothing behind in his wake. Sephiroth stood up and went to get him something to drink. Things like this were more like a daily routine to him. As soon as he reached for a glass the shadow man was reflected on the glass's surface. Sephiroth turned around to face him. The man smiled and stared into Sephiroth's eyes. Then, once more the shadow figure vanished into the air. Sephiroth went back to what he was doing. He rarely paid attention to apparitions anyway.

_Such a great thing to be back!_

The muted people of olden times shall show these pampered children a lesson.

Sephiroth just sighed and starting sipping at the wine he just poured for himself. His eyes shifted to Vincent, who appeared to have fallen asleep under the peaceful serenity of the house. Sephiroth scoffed and paid him no attention after the quick glance. He never was a social person anyway. He now concerned himself with the bitter taste of the wine in his glass. The dark red liquid went down easy enough, but the taste dissuaded the drinker from enjoying the full pleasure of it. If somehow the taste could be eliminated, then the wine itself could completely calm his nerves.

He stood at the window, swirling the glass in his hand. The liquid threatened to jump over its barriers, but Sephiroth set it in just the right motion so that it did not. His eyes were fixated on the ground outside. He longed to go out there, but the atmosphere was not in the right set for him to do so. Finally a single drop of wine landed on his hand. He stared at it for a moment before gravity rolled it off his hand and onto the floor.

Silently watching over head was the figure. His grin described his untold excitement and eagerness. Currently he made it a point not to be seen. He floated overhead in a laying position. He always had to be comfortable with what he was doing, even if it was spying on a potential threat. He finally set himself on the ground. He held out his hand to Sephiroth in a mocking motion and laughed to himself.

Tifa sighed as she wiped off the main table at the bar. Today was a relatively slow day in comparison to recent events, but she was thankful. Ryu and Michelle were still recovering and for a while it had been only her working. Though she was grateful when Barret and Cid avidly offered to help her today. She was forced to give Cid the job of mixing drinks in back. His colorful language would have scared off the customers. It seemed his many years fixing tea had served him well for he didn't have too much trouble filling the orders.

At the moment she just hoped Sephiroth was not getting himself into trouble. That was the last thing she needed. She had not even considered telling the others about his presence. She felt it was not necessary at the time. Her head sharply to the bar door when a large wind blasted them open. This puzzled her since the doors had locking mechanisms so they didn't do that.

"Now what the hell was that!" Barret exclaimed.

Sephiroth tore into Tifa's bedroom and was tossing many clothes out of a bag that Vincent had brought him. He finally emerged with something similar to what he was looking for. It was what looked to be a traveling cloak. Vincent must have thought it something he would wear. Without another thought he threw the cloak over his form and pulled the hood over his head. Quickly as he rushed down the stairs he tucked all of his hair into the hood. He made a quick glance to Vincent to make sure he was still asleep before he slipped out the door.

He looked at his surroundings and sighed. He knew Tifa would be mad at him, but this was too serious of a matter to avoid especially when it involved the dead. He stared at the ground and made his way to the bar. He stopped near the wooden structure of the well.

"_Are you sure about this?_" He said to something apparently only he could hear.

"_Extremely. He heads for her and you must intercept him. He must not be allowed to wreak havoc." _ The voice spoke to him.

"_Why am I doing this again?"_ Sephiroth asked.

"You forget so easily…You want to get rid of her, right? That guy will lead you to her. Also, I am sure you would have preferred to rot in that mako for a while longer, wouldn't you? It can be arranged." The voice answered.

"Fine I get it!" Sephiroth retorted, grumbling under his breath.

"Language…Sephiroth." The voice responded.

Sephiroth scoffed and caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Through a very dirty window he could see the forms of his lifetime rival and panther like creature, which he remembered all to well. He turned and went back to his course to the bar. He slowly turned the knob to the door and entered silently. He needed not draw more attention to himself than necessary. He took a table in the very secluded part of the bar in the shadows. He saw Tifa standing behind the counter and so far she had not noticed his arrival.

Tifa looked up from her gloomy position at the counter. She had heard a new customer walk in, but didn't bother to look at them until now. He looked like an adventurer with his cloak, but the manner and aura he was given off immediately made her panic. She knew that it was Sephiroth. She was about to scream. It would not be much of a problem if were not for the fact that Barret and Cid were there. Cluttered thoughts ran through her mind as she thought how to get him out of there. How could he be so stupid? When she was about to walk over to him she saw Barret beat her to her mark.

Sephiroth appeared to stare down at the table with his legs crossed. In reality he surveying the bar for anything out of the ordinary. He kept his ears very alert for any sound that was not supposed to be there. All he could hear was the creaking of wood as someone approached.

"What exactly am I looking for? You might prove to have some worth if you did give me more than a direction." Sephiroth said.

"Hopeless… Look for signs of death. That is what his calling card is." The voice answered.

"Hello…? I said may I take your order." Barret interrupted his thoughts with not so cheerful voice.

Sephiroth smirked under his concealment. He could not help himself. He remembered this man as while and the urge was too strong. "I thought waiters were supposed to be patient and courteous?"

Barret's face went red with anger, but he maintained a calm composure and he reinstated his question with an apology.

"Water." Sephiroth replied and went back to his investigation of the vicinity.

Barret marched to the back quickly as to prevent himself from saying a few colorful words to the aristocratic bastard sitting at the table. He gave the order to Cid and sat down for a moment. He had noticed Tifa's distress from the corner of his eye, but he decided it was best not to ask at the moment. He did not need to get her customers upset as well.

The old man laughed as he peered through his glasses at his container. The man inside the container had recently started to show signs of life and movement. His hands clenched and unclenched as the laughter continued. Monitors were going haywire in the background and giving off warning signals and siren alarms.

"That's it… wake up. Your time has come!" The old man said.

The form inside the container twitched violently with his eyes closed against the restraints holding him down. His long ebony black hair swirled about him. The wisps of his bangs were a haunting color of dark silver. Finally his head turned towards the scientist and his eyes opened forcefully revealing the dark green orbs. The glass of the containers shattered allowing the mako inside to flood out onto the floor. The straps holding the man in place snapped and he fell to the floor. The scientist looked at him as the figure got to his knees and coughed. Green masses came out of his mouth as he cleared his system of the poison.

After a few minutes the figure stood up and glanced down at his hands in a drugged stare. His legs seemed unsure to support him, but did so. His eyes blinked attempting to rid themselves of the drowsiness. He stood about six feet tall and nude due to his containment. He could barely hear the sirens in the background. His eyes started to glow very dimly.

"What is your name?" The scientist finally asked. His clipboard was in hand and he had on a smile of satisfaction and pride.

The man searched the haze of his mind for an answer that seemed to be lost to him at the time. His mouth opened and he finally gave the answer. "Orpheus…" He responded in a deep aristocratic voice.

The scientist inscribed something on his clipboard. His head rose once to glance at Orpheus. "Do you remember who you were, Orpheus?"

"I am Orpheus of the Northern Continent. I am a member of the Cetra… Council. She failed. I can't believe she failed," He replied starting to ramble in his thoughts, "Blasted bitch didn't do her job. They're still here." His eyes were focused on the air as he talked. They reflected of type of insanity that would scare those with weak wills. Though, he was still out of his body.

Sephiroth held his head a piercing screams started to enter his mind. Agonizing screams of the dead. His hands held his head up the table as it threatened to collapse with the tabletop. The voices came suddenly and were all screaming too much for him to pinpoint what anyone of them was saying. He pushed them to the back of his mind somewhat.

"What is the hell is going on?" Sephiroth asked.

"Great calamity…it has awakened. The Planet it screams. It hurts! They let it out!" The voice answered.

Sephiroth looked up and saw the same ghost figure he saw earlier standing over his table. His smile widened in a malevolent manner. The figure looked to the sky and then back to Sephiroth. His eyes shifted to Tifa and the other bar attendants at the counter whose eyes were as big as saucers. Apparently Sephiroth was not the only one who could see him now.

"What the #$#!" Barret exclaimed with slight terror.

"What do you want with me?" Sephiroth questioned, standing up from the table.

"To you, I thought it would be obvious, but I guess you will figure that out." The figure said slowly and quietly. He held his hand to the ground and chanted something. "Just say good-bye to it all."

The figure disappeared just as Sephiroth lunged at him. Before he could react to anything the ground started to shake violently. In the background Sephiroth could hear Cid's cursing and the sound of glasses falling from shelves. The establishment creaked and started to buckle. He could see the walls starting to crack. There was no time to escape before the whole place would cave in.

Tifa jumped out from under the counter as it crashed down. Barret was huddled in a corner near Cid. Tifa lost her footing and fell to the ground. A support beam from the roof landed not but a foot away from her and she jumped to get out of its way, but as soon as she did she heard Barret screaming.

"Tifa watch out!" Barret screamed, but it was all too late.

Author: Sorry for the long delay, but I finally got a chapter out that hopefully moves the plot line some for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it. I will here claim that Orpheus as my own creation as for who exactly he is will be revealed later. So I will not tell. Anyway I hope you guy loved the chapter. Please leave some reviews so I can get some feedback. I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistake I was typing this up quickly to post it.


	7. Chapter VI: A Little Too Much

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy VII or the song Broken Wings. They belong to Square Enix and Mr. Mister, respectively.

Chapter Six:

A Little Too Much

Tifa closed her eyes and braced herself to be crushed from the falling beam and roof tiles. Instead of being greeted by the unforgiving wood and tile, she felt the sensation of being lifted in someone's arms. She was jarred around slightly before whatever had her came to a halt. She coughed a little; dust had seeped into her lungs.

After her coughing fit subsided, she opened her eyes. She was above the wreckage of her bar and to her surprise in Sephiroth's arms. He shook his head at her and looked at the rubble below. His eyes were distant, cold, and far removed from this small sight of destruction. They were the only things she could see through the darkness of his hood besides a few wisps of silver. Vincent's cloak luckily covered his most distinguishable features, and that caused Tifa to relax only slightly. He, slowly, lowered her to the ground and completely let go only after making sure she would not lose her footing.

She stared at him with an inquisitive look on her face. How he had moved that quickly and managed to jump this far up was beyond her belief. They were at least thirty feet in the air standing on the remains of a chimney and ledge beside her bar. She left her balance wavering and almost fell until he grabbed her arm. She glared at him. Damn him. He was just standing there making this balancing act look extremely facile. He let out an irritated sigh and shifted his head to the rubble.

Now, she left ridiculous. She was so wrapped up in being angry and grateful at Sephiroth she almost forgot about Barret and Cid. She descended the rubble as fast as her balance would allow. To her surprise and much delight, she saw Barret and Cid erupt from the destruction almost unscathed. They only sustained a few minor cuts and bruises from what she could see. The two gave her a look of joy and astonishment as both stood up to greet her.

"Tifa, how the hell did you survive?" Cid asked in utter bewilderment. His eyes almost popping out of his head.

"I thought for sur' you were a' goner," Barret added.

Tifa smiled and looked up to where Sephiroth once stood, but he was nowhere to be found. She felt slightly disappointed, but remembered that Barret and Cid would go berserk if they found out now. She smiled and feigned ignorance. "I don't know what happened. One moment I was about to be crushed and the next I was standing above the wreckage. I guess the Planet just favored me." The two of them nodded, not quite believing her story, but accepting it anyway.

This is when she took a moment to notice it wasn't just her bar that was destroyed, but the neighboring inn and general store. The well in the middle of town was demolished and the reserved water was running into the disheveled streets. Part of Cloud's house had fallen and blocked the path leading to the mansion. The mansion seemed untouched still standing with no visible sign of damage. She looked towards her house, which also seemed untouched. She slowly sunk to her knees, grasping her heart. She could hear the people around her calling for their children or screaming over the dead.

She couldn't say quite why, but she started crying. The scar on her chest echoed pain and it vaguely reminded her of what this sight was reminiscent of. After all these years of repressing and hiding the memories, it had finally resurfaced. Her free hand attempted to pull the ground as her fingers dug into the soil. The only difference was there was no fire and she wasn't in the reactor. It was an earthquake. She damned herself for letting this happen. Her mind told her to blame Sephiroth for all her pain, but it was not that simple anymore. He was innocent. This whole event was a freak accident so she thought.

She was wrapped up in her emotion that she didn't notice Barret sitting beside her with his arm on her shoulder. He never knew of her sadness and agony that she felt surrounding this place, but the least he could was attempt to comfort his friend.

Tifa lifted her head and through her tear filled eyes she could see blond strands of hair and blue eyes. It was Cloud and his face looked quite saddened and apologetic at the same time. His arms were opened to greet her. She accepted them and cried into his shoulder as he rubbed the small of her back. He attempted to quiet her, but attempts were futile. All he could do was allow her to let it out. He looked to Barret and Cid.

"Please, go see what you can do for the survivors. I will stay with her," he said.

Cid and Barret nodded and went in separate directions. Tifa and Cloud looked alone and separate from the settling dust and chaos surrounding them. Her head was buried into his neck as she sobbed away. He set his chin on her shoulder and occasionally rubbed her back. They both were oblivious to everything around them except comforting one another.

Meanwhile, Nanaki was slowly dragging the unconscious Yuffie out of the fallen part of Cloud's house despite the obvious limp in his rear leg. With his pawprints were small traces of blood that indicated a cut in his pads.

Vincent had been lucky enough to be in Tifa's house at the time of the quake, but he did not stay there for long. His sleep had been interrupted by the sound of the house creaking and cracking. When he noticed Sephiroth had disappeared, he went outside just in time to see his trailing figure venture into his home. Silently, the cloaked man went after him. The two met just as Sephiroth took the time to sit down and lift the hood from his head. Vincent glared at him. A thickness filled the air between the tow, but quickly dissipated after a few minutes.

"Please, tell me you didn't have anything to do with that?" Vincent asked, completely forgetting the fact Sephiroth had gone outside in the first place.

Sephiroth smirked in response before staring just as harshly at Vincent. "No, I didn't. Fires are more of my signature, not earthquakes." Vincent remained slightly passive through his smart-ass response. "It was the result of a very angry and vengeful spirit."

It was well into the night before things started to settle down. Everyone except Vincent and Sephiroth settled in Tifa's house. Barret was outside vainly searching for Marlene. Cid was outside on Tifa's porch, shaking his head. He hated to see the big guy in tears. Grimly, he thought Barret would come to them in the morning with the broken and bleeding body of his beloved daughter. Cid lit another cigarette and stared into the night sky, praying to the Planet for Barret and Marlene.

Inside things were still quiet and downtrodden. Yuffie was lying upstairs on Tifa's bed, still unconscious. Nanaki lay quietly on the couch, occasionally looking at his bandaged leg. Cloud was sitting down at the kitchen table beside Tifa, who had calmed down considerably. He seemed slightly detached from her at the moment and very distant. Nanaki had been a witness to all that had transpired between the two for the past hours.

Ironically, Cloud's attempts to comfort Tifa were futile and had almost the opposite effect. He had never much of a people person. Apparently he had said something that greatly upset her with him. She swatted his hand away as he tried to pull her into his embrace. She couldn't understand why he could not understand her feelings at the moment. She cursed herself for being so weak and not being able to help the town or prevent the events that happened. All he said to her that it would be all right in the end.

And damn it that is what he always thought. Maybe back when they were children that it was true, but not anymore. The world had become to complex for that simple statement to work. Through her self-pity she felt selfish. Her emotions were getting the best of her and she could not help it. It also didn't help that the scar on her chest rung with pain throughout her small frame.

"I couldn't stop it. Why does it happen every time I feel safe things like this happen!" She yelled, slamming her hand on the table.

"It is not your fault.. Besides I know it will be all right," Cloud responded.

"No, Cloud, it will not be all right. You can not believe in that forever," she retorted sounding hurt and angry at the same time.

"I didn't until Aeris taught me that it will…" he said.

At that moment something inside her snapped. It was true she loved Aeris as a friend, but jealousy reared its ugly head. Visions flashed before her of Cloud constant flirting with Aeris, almost ignoring her own existence. The times she tried to warm up to him and he was cold towards her. That damn smile of hers stole the only man she really wanted away from her. Tifa never stood a chance against her background and innocent demeanor. Aeris was kind, generous, and never hurt others. Though Aeris, had hurt Tifa's heart.

No, she thought. Cloud was the one that had hurt her. He was the one that knew Tifa had feelings for him, but still ignored her. He feigned ignorance of her feelings and went with Aeris. Even after her death, feeling between the two of them seemed forced and false. She stood up from the table, slamming both of her palms on it.

Sephiroth looked up from his reeling thoughts as Vincent turned on the radio. Both had been silent to one another for the some time now. The radio was a welcome relief to the eerie silence that echoed throughout the mansion. Vincent nodded at his companion's presence before heading in the direction of the kitchen. Sephiroth remained behind and looked outside just in time to see the skies unleash a torrent of water on the already bleak, broken down town. He was currently occupying an old, elegant chair meant for people of nobility. A single candle lighted the room by the piano and the glow of his eyes. He looked slightly amused at the storm. He barely moved making him appear to be just another decoration in the vast, dust covered mansion. It appeared that he fit neatly into place in this elegant, yet old environment.

The glow of his eyes danced with the drops of rainwater. He had long since abandoned the cloak for a trenchcoat Vincent loaned him. Inside his head, his thoughts wandered, but his face gave no indication of what his thoughts were. Slowly, he began to stand as the chair creaked being released from his weight. He walked over to the window and stood there with his arms crossed. All he could think about was the specter he had come to know. He had no clue of who it was, but somehow felt connected to him.

His fingers came to rub the bridge of his nose. He was definitely annoyed by this whole situation especially that specter he knew was responsible for this. His head hurt from dwelling on it too much. Though, outwardly he seemed immovable and impassable as a mountain during the strongest of blizzards. But how dearly he wished he could tear that ghost limb from limb. Some primal instinct inside of him urged the matter. Oh how he would enjoy seeing the sight of that man begging for his mercy. He smiled grimly at the thought of his blood running down Masamune. That is when it hit him. His sword had been absent since he came from the lifestream. This fact perturbed him even further. He felt incomplete with his precious gift as he called it. He moved his bangs from his face even more annoyed with himself now.

_You still find satisfaction in revenge, don't you?_

"_Only when justice needs to be served," Sephiroth spoke to the voice._

_And what justice needs to be served to a man you don't even know?_

"_You dare question my reasons? What does one need other than a gut feeling to know when one is your enemy and needs to be eliminated?"_

_If only you felt the same way about everything else in your life…_

"_And what is it you are inquiring?"_

_Nothing really… It's a little too much for you anyway._

Before he could retort or probe for further answers as he felt the voice leave him. It angered him more, but he still retained a calm countenance about him. He turned around in a wave of silver to look away from the window.

Orpheus looked at himself, his senses finally coming to him. He stood in front of a long mirror examining his body. He was fitted into clothing the scientist provided for him. His pants were hunter green and very plain. His shirt was an almost black green and constrained at the waist by a simple dark brown belt. He wore black boots made for formal occasions and over his whole figure was a form hiding black trenchcoat. He was pleased with his attire and rubbed at one of the silver bangles on his wrists. Inscribed into the metal were symbols in the language of the Cetra.

He smiled wickedly and turned with his arm outstretched and whispered a simple word. Nearby a table exploded leaving little more than burnt spots on the floor. He lowered his hand and stared at the scientist.

"Perfect. I commend you on a job well done. Being trapped in that living hell was getting boring," Orpheus said. "There is just one more thing."

"No need to say anything else," the scientist responded. He walked over to a table and with a huge effort picked up a battered sword inside its sheath. It was about five feet in length and curved. Orpheus took from the man with no effort and unsheathed it.

The blade's hilt was simple and black. The blade itself was unsettling being permanently stained with crimson. Orpheus smiled and took a practice swing, effectively cutting an innocent chair in two, cleanly. He sheathed the blade and attached it to his back with a leather strap.

"It's nice to see you retrieved Murasame for me as well," Orpheus stated, "Now to see if you really did your homework. Where is the wielder of Masamune? That is the first person I want to see."

The man looked at him with a glint I his eye. "He is in a small town called Nibelheim, but is without the sacred sword of the Cetra. The fool lost it."

Orpheus laughed with his head arched back. He laid his right hand to his forehead. "This situation is jut getting better and better. Now I can eliminate him without worries. Without that damnèd blade no one is capable of stopping me this time around!"

"Well, I am sorry that I am not Aeris!" Tifa shouted.

"Tifa, listen to what you are saying, you are being unreasonably," Cloud said as he stood up. He placed his hand under her chin and made her face him. She quickly jerked her head away from him.

"Then tell me, how am I supposed to act?" she questioned.

"First I want you to calm down, getting upset is not going to help the situation," Cloud stated. Bu of course being himself he could not just leave it at that. "You need to stop thinking about yourself and your feelings and about others."

His words stung her like a million swords stabbing through her heart, tearing it to shreds. She glared at him as tear streamed down from her face. Damn him for making her cry again. Acting on impulse she walk towards the door and slammed it behind herself. Cloud was about to chase after her, but he thought better of it.

Tifa ran past Cid, who yelled to her, but his words were lost in the haze of her mind. As if by instinct she ran through the muddy streets and tore though the ruble obscuring her path towards the mansion. She scraped herself along some of the broken beams and tiles. Before she could comprehend what had transpired she found herself standing in the entranceway of the mansion.

She was clearly a mess, her clothes soaked. Her face was a mix of rain and tears. Her legs and arms were covered in tiny scratches. The thick clay covering them muddled her shoes down. Her wine colored eyes looked up from the floor. They were meet by the sight of Sephiroth. He had heard her enter and went to inspect the intruder in the mansion. His eyes were the only distinguishable feature in the dimly lighted mansion. Music echoed throughout the place. She sobbed and ran towards him, not caring anymore. She stopped in front of him with her head to the ground. Sephiroth crossed his arms and looked down upon her shaking form. Her actions caused him to raise his eyebrow at her.

Before he had time to react she crumpled herself against his bare chest, crying. Her right hand clinched at his borrowed black trenchcoat while the other fisted itself near her head. He flinched at her closeness and almost pushed her away, but some force inside him made him not.

Tifa felt so weak, but didn't care. Why she felt compelled to seek comfort in Sephiroth was beyond her comprehension. She looked up at his cold glaze and somehow felt comforted. Her scar no longer pained her, but sobs and the cold still wracked throughout her form. She could hear another song starting the background and went back to sobbing into his chest. There she felt protected, safe from the pains of her life and the harsh words of Cloud.

Baby, don't understand why we can't just hold 

_  
To each other's hands. _

Sephiroth, in an attempt to remove gently from his person, he started to pry her right hand from his clothing. He got the opposite effect when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. At this point he was both angry and confused by her action.

This time might be the last we feel 

_  
Less I make it all too clear, I need you so _

He tried to pull his hand away from her. She looked up at him once more with pleading eyes. She must have been delirious or insane to be doing this to him. Either way she didn't care. At the moment she needed a strong pillar to stand against.

"Please…" she sounded so pleading. Her eyes cried out to him. He tried to resist them, but he was still part human and gave into her. He could hear voices swirling about his head and they all sang a mournful tone.

She slowly pulled his free arm around her waist as she hugged closer into his form. She couldn't explain why she did this, but it felt so right to her. His warmth was a welcome to her cold body and numb fingers. She listened to his steady heartbeat that helped her calm down.

Sephiroth looked at her slight disgust that eventually subdued into indifference. He looked down at Tifa as she mumbled something into his chest.

Take these broken wings and learn fly again 

_  
Learn to live so free_

"..Angel… Fallen.." she murmured. His eyes widened at her assumption. He definitely was no angel. He pulled her head to face him with his hand. She was smiling gently towards him. His mind tried to probe into her thoughts, but he was meet with pain and another feeling he couldn't pinpoint. He pulled quickly out of the recesses of her mind. She had a fever. He could deduce that much. She was hallucinating.

When we hear the voices sing 

_  
The book of love will open up and let us in _

_  
Take these broken wings _

Tifa reached out to grasp at something that was behind him, only she could see. She smiled sweetly and brought a single black feather in her hand. Sephiroth shook his head, swearing that was not there before and wondered where the hell she got it. Specks of blood lightly decorated the feather.

"It must hurt… To have your wings broken, not able to fly. I can teach you," she said. Strangely enough he had to shake away a twinge in his back.

Baby, think tonight 

_  
We can take what was wrong and make it right_

_  
Baby, it's all I know is that _

_  
You are half of the flesh and blood that makes me whole _

That was all he could take of her as he pushed her gently away from him. Human contact never settled with him and hers was going behind his personal bubble. She grabbed at him and refuse to let him push her away.

"Please, don't I need you." She said.

He had almost enough of it so he scooped her sodden form easily in his arms. She hugged his neck and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. He was slightly annoyed by this, but slowly ascended the stairs to the bedroom he remembered being here. Inside his head the voices sang to him.

_So take these broken wings and learn to fly again  
Learn to live so free  
When we hear the voices sing  
The book of love will open up and let us in_

It didn't take him long to reach the room and deposit her on the bed. With her high fever it was the least he could do for her tending to him those nights. He may have been a cold-hearted man, but he never liked leaving a debt he owed, unpaid. He turned to leave when he felt a tug at his coat.

"Please don't leave me…" Tifa spoke through her weakened voice.

He was slightly amused by the look she gave him. It reminded him of his childhood days when all he wanted was someone beside him to make his pain go away, but no one ever did come. Slowly, he found himself sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her.

Tifa smiled through the growing haze in her mind. All she could make out were these brilliant warmly glowing eyes. Behind them were town, torn, tattered wings, but didn't matter to her or the fact this being was giving off a menacing aura. She reached her arm out through the anger. Her hand lightly touched the being that held those wings.

Take these broken wings  
You've got to learn to fly  
Learn to live and love so free  
And when we hear the voices sing  
The book of love will open up and let us sing

She smiled, feeling her tears dry. She felt warm all over and pulled herself up to rest her head on this being's shoulder. She felt him tense and smiled all the more. She didn't care anymore. Here she felt safe and secure for once in her life. She wasn't alone and she could feel her heart sing in unison to the breathing of this man. She slowly succumbed to sleep as her hands weakly grasped on Sephiroth's trenchcoat.

"Broken angel, I need you a little too much…" She whispered before welcoming the comfort of sleep.

------

A/N: Sorry guys for taking so long, but I had many problems writing this chapter. But I was inspired by the song, Broken Wings, by Mr. Mister and felt it appropriate to include it in this chapter. Originally, I was going to have the others find out about Sephiroth, but decided against it and went the route of developing Tifa's and Sephiroth's relationship with each other. I am sorry that Sephiroth seems so cold towards her, but I believe it will take him a while to give into raw emotion. It isn't exactly one of those hopelessly romantic kinds of guys. I also apologize if you think I put too much description in the scenes with Sephiroth, but this story is leaning towards being centered on him. Oh I do realize there is a sword in the game Cloud gets called Murasame, but that is different from Orpheus's and all be explained about that later.

Anyway, next chapter should be out soon. I hope you enjoyed this one and please give me some honest feedback on this one because I feel a little unsure if I approached it correctly, besides I love constructive criticisms. Oh, and thank you for all my readers waiting all this time for this post.


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